International immigration has been highly linked with insecurity and criminality. Illegal immigration is identified as one of the security threats that the US faces. For this reason, policies have been put in place to protect the US against insecurity posed by illegal immigrants. President Donald Trump’s administration has been very keen on the issue of protecting the US borders. The president passed many bills concerning border security, including but not limited to, banning Muslim states such as Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen, from entering the country. One of the federal policies on the US border security is one initiated by President Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential campaigns; that constructing a great wall in the US southern border to border the US and Mexico. This paper discusses the policy issue of erecting the “Trump Wall,” its impact within the border and transportation security sector, and provide an opinion on the policy discussed.
The reason behind the construction of the US-Mexico border wall is that of immigration and security. However, some scholars have argued that these are mere excuses as there are indirect motives behind the wall's construction (Torrijo, 2018). To understand the force behind the wall's construction, it is important to go back to history. The policy on border construction resulted from the war between America and Mexico. The two nations signed the Guadalupe Hidalgo agreements, which saw Mexico cede almost half of its land. The Monroe doctrine provided that the US should expand its territory following the Mexico defeat. So many Mexicans migrated to the US illegally, something that Buchanan, 2006, warned that if it is not controlled, the US may lose its Southwest territory. This is the basis behind the construction of the wall.
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The building of the wall has an effect on security and transport. The 2017 US homeland security secretary, John Kelly, said that the wall] will protect the US against the inversion by illegal immigrants because ‘physical barriers work’ (Kopan, 2017). Thus, protection from illegal immigrants and drug smugglers is one of the impacts the border wall has.
Mobility within the border has been greatly affected by the wall. Over the years, people across the border have interacted, with youths crossing the borders to play soccer, access medical facilities. This has been a two-way interaction in that the Americans cross the borders to access Medicare in Mexico cheaply and faster. This has been disrupted by the wall. The environment has not been spared either. The ecosystems around the border have been disrupted. President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate change accord, thus making it clearer that the wall does not favor the environment.
In my opinion, the border wall was not the best option to take. Szalavitz (2016) observes that when faced with a crisis, issues of morality should be put aside, and the drugs used for treatments. It is important to look at drug trafficking as a health concern rather than treating it as a security threat.
The fight against drugs has proved to be difficult over time. A multidimensional approach should be employed other than using force. As long as the drugs are in the market, they will not lack buyers, with or without the wall. Illegal immigration should be handled collectively. The US needs a policy that will encourage the immigration of the talented labor force and legalize the illegal immigrants already in the country while preventing the entry of other immigrants (Young, 2017). This should be done through cooperation as building a wall is simply cutting any connection with other countries.
References
Kopan, T.(2017). “Kelly: No Border Wall ‘from sea to Shinig Sea.’” CNN, April 5, 2017. https://www.m.cnn.com/2017/04/05/politics/kelly-testimony-senate-homeland-border-security-wall/index.httml?r=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
Szalavitz, M. (2016). “US addiction statistics are dire. Small changes won’t solve the problem.” The Guardian , Nov. 2016.
Torrijo, H. (2018). The conservative discourse behind the US-Mexico border wall vs. co-operation for cross-border regional development. Universite du Quebec a Montreal/ Udg-CUCI; Representations dans le monde Anglophone, 1 (1): 106-128
Young, P. (2017). Making America 1920 again? Nativism and US immigration, past and present. Journal on Migration and Human Security, 5 (1): 217-235.
